The Journey so far!!

If  I had to sum up the last 2 weeks in one word........HARD!

But I'm totally OK with that :)

It's only once you get out of your comfort zone and keep pushing through that you know you are developing yourself, not only in the the physical side of things, but definitely mentally as well. With huge changes in my diet being the first major hurdle. 4 weeks out from comp my trainer sent me my diet plan and even with its 9 meals and 3 shakes a day, most days are border line on 2000 calories, and being at around 84.5kg those numbers were low to maintain the lean muscle I have. Now 2 weeks on I am sitting at 82.2kg and approx 5-6% bodyfat. And with no change in sight for my diet I just have to keep pressing on as hard as I can at the gym everyday to stay lean and keep as much mass as possible.

Next struggle was the actual training, trying to maintain certain weights on various exercises for 4 sets and varying reps is becoming more of a struggle every session, and fatigue soon sets in. This is where the strongest part of you kicks in, your mind!! It's easy to say i'm struggling I'll call it a day and leave. But to stay and push through knowing that it's the right thing to do is what will make all the difference when it comes to getting up on stage, and being able to tell yourself that no matter where you place that you gave it your best and you walk off there without a doubt in your mind you gave it your all!

The next thing that has taken a bit of a toll on me without much initial consideration is the weather, going from being conditioned to sunny, humid Townsville then arriving in Victoria where everyday is at and above 40 degrees has really made everything a lot harder to do, from training and even sleeping at night when it is still around 30 degrees and all I have is a 12" pedestal fan to attempt to cool myself.

And lastly the mental strain of being on a mentally demanding course. I have not yet found it to difficult yet mixed with the low calories and intense training, but i'm sure as the final days draw closer I will start to have trouble concentrating and hopefully won't get to far off track. But so far so good, i'm keeping it all together and the finish line is in sight and I can't wait to stuff my face once it is all done! :P

If you set yourself a goal stick to it, nothing compares to the personal reward of knowing you challenged yourself and won, to often we hear peoples stories of 'I nearly did this' and stories full of if's and but's! Don't be that person!! Do it for yourself!

Progress update pic - Rear Back shot of Back double bicep! Slowly but surely getting there :)

Time to step up!!

So this last week has been quite busy with training, meal prep, rest and getting ready to go back to work, and I head off for 2 months to commence a work related course. It's still over a week away before I go but I have found myself already starting to pack and see how I can arrange my suitcase so I can fit most of my supplements, food and gym/training related items rather then things I should be worrying about taking :)

Not to mention now I am part of Team FlexR6 and am going to be stepping on stage to compete in my first novice comp in only 5 weeks time. So there are so many added stresses right now and starting next week a huge change to my training and nutrition program once my great trainer sends me the final product on Friday!

This has been a huge ambition for me and to see it all start taking place is a huge realization that you can do anything you put your mind to, at this stage I am only going to be competing in fitness and physique categories as there is not enough time to prep for the actual body building division, and with the added pressure of me on my military psychology course it would be to much to take on all at once.

I never thought I would see the day I would be on stage wanting to show my body off. I'll take a few steps back and talk about when I was younger, all my teenage years I was a big kid, the heaviest I tipped the scales at was 120+kg, but now to be able to comfortably sit at 84kg for me was an amazing achievement.

It all comes down to you and the dedication you put in to achieve the goals you have, I couldn't be happier that I took this lifestyle on all those years ago, nothing now feels like a chore, it's all just second nature. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see yourself succeed and better yourself not only physically but mentally! There is nothing tougher then pushing through some of those unbearable gym sessions, or sprinting up hills to get that burn and feel your heart trying to burst out your chest. But every time you finish something you set out to achieve or do something you NEVER thought you could do, you leave a little it prouder and stronger and from there you can only keep going up!

I'll keep you all posted with how my comp preparation is going and chuck in some photos along the way, remember to push yourself a little further each time and never give up, because one day you may find yourself doing something you never thought you would do in a million years!!

It's all about the pump!!! :) 

Lifting till the grave!

Today my day started at 5:30 am, I got up and had my usual 1 cup of oats, 1 cup of egg whites and a whole egg. Scrambled it all up and shoved it down my throat, washing it down with a strong black coffee.

I prepacked my car the night before with all the signage, the 'lift it' singlets and shirts, a big bowl of snacks and a lot of water, in anticipation of a very hot day. Only 2 days before the markets were on I was informed I had been booked in and a spot allocated for me, which is good news but with stock levels low and being given short notice to get everything ready all I could do was give it a go!

I was set up and ready to go, people were everywhere even though a lot of stall holders were still away due to the holiday period, and the demographic at these certain markets were older people hitting up the local fruit vendors and trying to barter a bargain at bric'a'brac stalls. My stall had no shade and to my luck once it hit 8 am the sun was over the only spot in the car park where the shade sails didn't cover and it beaming down right on me! Lets just say lucky I was wearing a black shirt otherwise I would be frightening people walking past by the copious amounts of sweat coming out of me. All in all I had a good time, a few friends came by and I sold a bit of stock, but the highlight of my morning there occurred around 9:30 am.

While I was texting on my phone trying to convince someone to bring me a coffee an elderly gentleman walked up to the tables, using his walking stick as a pointer he placed it on a shirt directly on the logo and said "what does 'Lift it' mean" I initially thought to myself that this wasn't going to go well as he won't know what i'm going on about....so I went on to tell him that 'Lift it' refers to lifting weights, and the gym culture that is present these days is quite large and it's a lifestyle etc etc... and halfway through he appeared somewhat distracted and was looking back and forth and partially listening. So I paused and just sort of smiled at him with a stupid grin on my face. "I'll tell you about lifting" he said. Once he engaged eye contact with me after about 10 seconds of silence, he went on to tell me about a trip up to the Gulf where his 4wd got stuck in the mud and he couldn't use a jack as it would just sink into the mud, so he told his wife he was going to lift the back end out and to drive on and keeping giving it some till she was out, all this happened while she was yelling at him telling him he is to old for that now......but he said in the end he got it out, was covered in mud and it shut his wife up. I'm not sure how long ago this took place but I thought good on him! I told him that's pretty impressive but he immediately cut me off, paused, looked around again then resumed speaking telling me he was lifting all his life and was a national weight lifter, power lifter and how important it was for him and he emphasized how he lifted with correct technique for all those years and never blew out his back and why he is still able to walk around and be physically active these days considering how old he was. I was just nodding and smiling the whole time knowing I wouldn't get a word in and just to let him keep going, he wrapped it up by saying "I can't lift anymore, but when I could, boy could I lift." Again he looked around paced a few steps to the left, turned back around, gave me a smile and he was gone.

All this went down while he was wearing jeans, a long sleeve black shirt and a thick black vest while being in direct sunlight in 35 degree Celsius weather and merrily swinging and pointing his walking stick throughout the conversation.

At the time I didn't think to much of it, but after a while of just sitting there thinking, I realized this guy spent a large part of his life doing something he enjoyed, and now even though unable to do it he was still imparting his joy and knowledge and still wanting to express how it impacted his life, to think that there would have nearly been a 50 year age difference we were still able to relate to something on the same level which is pretty amazing to me.

 So just remember if you're doing something you enjoy keep doing it, don't let others tell you otherwise and you never know what impact it might have on someone down the track. :)